The Mole 1
is the first season of The Mole! Hosts Format Missions Each mission generally has a cash reward towards the group pot for various levels of success. On occasion, a mission will have a cash penalty for failure. The missions comprise a wide variety of physical and/or mental (brain teaser) challenges posed to the contestants. Most are straightforward, and the rules are fully explained to all contestants. In some cases, however, a mission is not fully explained to all contestants, increasing its difficulty. In those cases, perhaps only selected contestants are informed of the full nature of the challenge, and must work towards a different goal than the rest. In rare instances, there are secret missions which only one, or none of the contestants are aware of. Missions are sometimes entirely physical, or entirely mental, but usually, have elements of both. Overcoming fear is a common challenge theme, however, none of the missions have ever involved harmful actions (e.g. ingesting unsavory items as done in Fear Factor) or explicitly unsafe stunts. Some missions in the TV series have involved "extreme" activities such as bungee jumping, rappelling, or tightrope walking, but all are under strict expert supervision with proper harnessing. Some missions require every member of the team to complete their task for the team to earn money, while other missions award money for each contestant that finished, regardless of the others. A common requirement is for the team to divide themselves into groups based on given attributes (e.g., "leaders" and "followers") before they learn what the task is. Quizzes and Execution Each quiz follows the same basic format, asking either twenty or ten (depending on the season) questions about the identity of the Mole. Questions are in multiple-choice format with a widely varying number of choices; some questions have only two options (e.g. yes/no answer). The questions reflect upon a variety of observations about the Mole. Some ask about personal information (i.e., physical attributes, personal history, likes/dislikes, all collected from the original game applications). Other questions are based on in-game information (i.e., how the Mole performed in that day's mission). The final question of each quiz is ostensibly "Who is the Mole?", with all remaining players' names as options. The final question does not hold more weight than the others, and it is not unusual for players to miss that question, but still score well on the quiz. After dinner, all players (including those exempted from execution) complete the quiz in private on a computer. The Mole also completes the quiz so as to avoid suspicion. The player who has the lowest score on the quiz is eliminated from the game in an "execution" ceremony and are said to be "executed by the Mole." If there is a tie for lowest score amongst two or more players, the tied player who completed the quiz in the slowest elapsed time would be executed. The Mole is always safe from execution and is guaranteed to be involved in the game until the very end, though he or she can never win. The execution ceremony consists of the players sitting in rows of chairs before the host. In the first four seasons, the host had a laptop on which he typed each player's name, in no apparent order, one at a time. This caused a large television display of the thumbprint logo to turn either green or red, often after a tension-building pause. A green thumbprint indicated the player was safe. The red thumbprint signified the player as executed. Exemptions Contestants are sometimes awarded an Exemption from execution. An exempt contestant receives a free pass to the next round during that night's execution ceremony, and can not be eliminated, regardless of their quiz score. In the first season, exemptions were an occasional twist, while in the second through fifth seasons, exemptions were offered in almost every episode, and were highly coveted. Once awarded during gameplay, exemptions are announced publicly to the group and are otherwise not considered secret during the execution ceremony. Even after the first season, exemptions are usually twists in the game. In some cases, exemptions are awarded to a single player for an exceptional effort or performance during that day's task. Sometimes the exempted player is chosen by the group, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Other times, the exemption comes in the form of a temptation to not complete a task and forfeit money for the pot; or as an unexpected consolation prize for failure during a task. In some cases, the exemption is a secret element to the day's game, revealed only to the player(s) eligible. A player(s) may find themselves surprisingly eligible to receive an exemption by carrying out simple, honest, coincidental acts such as being the last person to leave the breakfast table or eating the last piece of pie at dessert. Likewise, that player's ploy to achieving the exemption is often unbeknownst to the other players. The Players Execution Chart : Blue indicates the player won the game. : Yellow indicates the player was the mole. : White indicates the player was safe. : Green indicates the player won an exemption. : Tan indicates the player tied with the executed player for lowest quiz score but took the quiz in a faster time. : Red indicates the player scored the lowest on the quiz and was executed. : Gray indicates the player decided to walk from the game or was removed. Links The Mole Season 1 Forums